Inertia pump for supplying gasoline to carburetors



May 27, 1930.

S. V'ERNET INERTIA PUMP FOR SUPPLYING GASOLINE To CARBURETORS Filed0G12. 8, 1925 Ma I Q E11-l C) INVEN TR ERG/U6 VER/VET @Y #www `PatentedrMay 27, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENTY OFFICE sEBGIUs vnRNE'r, on BROOKLYN,NEW YORK, AssrGNoR or ONE-HALF ro WILLIAM r. HAMMOND, or `soansnann, NnwYORK INERTIA PUMP FOR SUPPLYING GASOLINE TO CARBURETORS Application ledOctober `8, 1925. Serial No. 61,156.

This invention relates to pumps for supplying gasoline to thecarburetors of internal combustion engines orfor other purposes.

One of the objects of the invention is `to provide a simple pump1 forpumping liquid, which will have a minimum of moving parts and stillOperate eifectively. l

Another object of the invention is to provide a pump of extremely simpleconstruction and operation for supplying gasoline to carburetOrS, whichwill automatically cease supplying the gasoline when the carburetor isfull, and automatically replenish the suply when the level of gasolineinthe caruretor falls.

Another object of the invention is to provide a valveless reciprocatingpump for supplying gasoline to carburetors o internal combustionengines. 2o A further object of the invention is to provide a pump whichwill not only supply gasoline to carburetors of internal combustionengines, but will also keep the supply pipe clear and free fromsediment.

A further obj ect of the invention is to provide a method for pumpingliquid from one level to another by imparting to the column of liquid, aseries of unidirectional impulses close enough together to preventreturn of the entire amount of liquid advanced and to permit dischargeof a portion of the liquid without the use of valves or other movingarts.

A further object of the invention is to provide a method for raising aliquid from one level to another which comprises the steps of setting acolumn of liquid in pulsating motion by unidirectional impulses andpermitting 25 discharge of a part of the liquid advanced p solely by themomentum ofthe liquid column.

These and other objects of the 'invention will be apparent as thedescription of the invention proceeds. y

In the drawings, which illustrate one of the many forms of embodiment ofthe invention, l

Fig. 1 is a sectional side elevational view of apump embodying myinvention; and

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view partly in section of a modification ofthe pump shown in Fio'. 1.

Referring more specifically to the drawings, the pump comprises acylinder 10 adapted to be rigidly attached to the casing of an internalcombustion engine. A piston 11 is slidably mounted within the cylinderand may be forced inwardly by a cam 12 attached to a shaft 13 driven-bythe engine or other l source of power, and outwardly by a spring A `leibearing against the cam follower 15 and the piston rod bearing 16closing the cylinder 10. The cam 12 as illustrated may be shaped so thatwhen driven in the direction of the arrow the inward movement of thepiston is slower than the outward movement, but-if desired the cam 12may be` symmetrical so that the inward and outward movements of l the`piston will be at the same rate of speed. A vent 16a in tlieend' of thecylinder adjacent thebearing 16 allows air to pass freely in and out asthe piston moves back and forth. A reservoir 17 is attached directlybeneath the.

l cylinder 10, the only opening thereto being the outlet 18 in thebottom thereof and the inlet or port- 19 through the lower wall of thecylinder 10. Directly above this opening 19 in the cylinder wall is arelatively small opening20 in the upper wall of the cylinder. Thecylinder wall is extended around this opening 20to form a boss` 21 whichis threaded and upon which is screwed the stand pipe 22. An inlet pipe23 from the gasoline tank or other source of iiuid supply is connectedtothe end of the cylinder and an Outlet pipe2i is screwed intotheopening 18 in the bottom of the reservoir 17 and leads to thecarburetor The method of operation of the pump is as follows: l

Assuming the pump and reservoir to be empty and the piston moving baci:and forth within the cylinder, the suction stroke of the piston .willcause the gasoline in the supply tank to rise a certain distance withinthe inlet pipe 23. As this rise in level is fairly rapid, the gasolinewill have a certain amount of momentum when the piston opens the ports19 and 20, and the inertiain the gasoline will cause the gasoline tocontinue to rise in the pipe which is open throu h the vent 20 to atmosheric pressure. T e port 19 1s so place with relation to the travel ofthe pistn that on the return stroke of the piston 1t is covered beforethe momentum in the column of gasoline has been entirely used up andbefore the gasoline has returned to the level at which it was when theport 19 was uncovered. The remainder of the return stroke merelydisplaces an amount of gasoline in the supply pipe equal to thedisplacement of the piston as it travels from the port 19 to the end ofthe stroke. In other words, the port 19 is opened near the end of thesuction stroke when the momentum in the gasoline is considerable, andclosed near the beginning of the return stroke before any momentum hasbeen built up in the o posite direction. When the cycle is complete thegasoline has gained a new level in the inlet pipe 23. This new level maybe only an inch or a fraction of an inch above the former level.However, the repetition of the cycle quickly draws the gasoline up intothe inlet pipe 23 until it completely fills the pipe and the cylinder10, at which time the amount raised by each suction stroke will flow outof the port 19 into the reservoir 17. The opening 2O in the upper wallof the cylinder is small enough so that the gasoline will not readilypass therethrough. When the gasoline used by the engine is less than theamount supplied by the pump the reservoir 17 will lill with gasoline andwhen the level of gasoline reaches the opening 19 the gasoline in thecylinder must either be forced through the o ening 20` into the standpipe 22 or be mere moved back and forth in the pipe 23. As t ie opening20, being small, oil'ers considerable resistance to the flow of gasolinetherethrough, a small quantity only of gasoline will pass through theopening 2() and the gasoline will slowly rise in the stand pipe 22. Whenthe gasohne rises a certain distance in the stand pipe the weight of thegasoline, together with the friction in the opening 20, will prevent itfrom rising higher and the gasoline then in the inlet pi e 23 andcylinder 10 will move back and fort with the piston and no gasoline willbe forced through either the opening 20 or the port 19. lVhen some ofthe gasoline is drawn from the reservoir into the carburetor and thelevel falls below the opening 19, gasoline will again flow into thereservoir. It will thus be evident that the reservoir will alwa s bekept supplied with gasoline and when lled completely the pump will ceaseto function althou h the piston continues to move backward and forwardas long as the engine is turnin over.

It will be understood that the piston must move at a s ed great enoughto set up momentum in t e column of gasoline in the pipe 23 and that theipe 23 must be long enough to provide a su cient column of gasoline.

The constant surging backward and forward of the gasoline within thepipe 23 prevents any sediment collecting there and insures the gasolinefeed being clear at all times. The size of thev reservoir 17 issufficient to 'permit starting and operation of the engine for a longenough period to start the gasoline flowing from the pipe 23 to thereservoir 17.

In Fig. 2 I have shown a modification 0f the pulnp shown in Fig. 1 inwhich the small opening 20"t is in the side of the reservoir 17a, thepipe 22 being attached to the boss 21JL in the same manner as the pipe22 in Fig. 1. In this modifica-tion, when the gasoline rises to thelevel of the opening 20a the amount of gasoline flowing from the pumpwill gradually become smaller until the gasoline has risen to a certaindistance in the stand pipe 22, when the pump will cease to function forthe same reason that the flow of gasoline into the reservoir is stoppedin the pump shown in Fig. 1. Thus the reservoir 17 will be kept filledwith gasoline at all times.

While I have described the form of embodiment of the invention as usinga reciprocating pump, a rotary pump may also be used or any other typeof pump in which the column of liquid to be pumped is given a momentumand that momentum used to cause the liquid to flow out of the pump. Themethod of operation is the same in each case. I have also described thepresent embodiment of the invention as a pump for supplying carburetorsof internal combustion engines with gasoline, but it is evident thatsuch a pump may have other uses, especially where it is desirable tohave a simple, cheap pump with a minimum of moving parts, such as inpumping certain chemicals, and it is therefore not my desire to limitthe embodiments of the invention to any specific use or particularembodiment of the parts, but to interpret it broadly within the scope ofthe appended claims.

Claims:

1. The combination with a valveless reciprocating pump of a reservoirreceiving liquid from said pump and hydrostatic means to render saidpump inoperative when said reservoir has been filled to a predeterminedlevel.

2. A valveless reciprocating pump comprising a cylinder, an inlet and anoutlet opening in said cylinder, a piston, al reservoir receiving liquidfrom said cylinder, and a stand pipe communicating with said reser-Voir.

3. A valveless reciprocating pump comprising a cylinder having anopening in the side thereof an inlet in said cylinder, a piston slidablydisposed within said cylinder, a reservoir communicating with saidopening, said reservoir having a vent in the side near the top thereof,and an open stand pipe in communication with said vent.

4. A valveless pump comprising a cylinder having adjacent inlet andoutlet openings therein, a piston slidably disposed AWithin saidcylinder, a` reservoir communicating with said'outlet opening, saidreservoir having a ventl in the side near the top thereof and an openstand pipe connecting with the vent in said reservoir. 5. A valvelessreciprocating pump comprising a cylinder having an inlet opening nearthe end thereof, a piston slidably disposed therein, a reservoir beneathsaid cylinder having an opening communicating with said cylinder nearthe inlet of said cylinder and a stand pipe adjacent to said reservoirand having a relatively small opening into the upper portion of saidreservoir.

G. A valveless pump for supplying fuel to carburetors of internalcombustion engines comprising a cylinder, a piston within said column, areservoir, and a valveless discharge orifice in said pum communicatingwith said reservoir where y on the pulsation of the column of fuel aportion will be discharged through said orifice into said reservoir.

11. The method of raising a liquid from one level to another whichcomprised the steps of alternately evacuating the air from a portion ofa cylinder at the higher level in communication with the liquid in thelower level and imparting uni-directional impulses to the freely movablecolumn to force a portion of the liquid from the column at the higherlevel and subsequently hydrostatically balancing the column when thepredetermined quantity is obtained at the upper level.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature to this specification.

SERGIUS VERNET.

cylinder, a supply pipe connected to said cylinder, means to reciprocatesaid piston to cause pulsations in the liquid in said supply pipe tolill said cylinder and means to permit hydrostatic discharge from saidcylinder of a small portion only of the fuel drawn into said cylinder bysaid piston.

7. A pump for supplying fuel to carburetors of internal combustionengines comprising a cylinder having a supply pipe connected thereto, apiston Within said cylinder, means to reciprocate said piston, areservoir adjacent said cylinder and communicating therewith, andhydrostatic means preventing i further discharge into said reservoirduring continuous reciprocation when said fuel in `aidlreservoir remainsabove` a predetermined eve 8. In a valveless reciprocating pump of thetype described, the combination of a cylinder, a piston, means toreciprocate the piston in the cylinder, a liquid inlet line, a liquidoutlet and a restricted air vent from said cylinder, and a stand pipecommunicating with said vent.

9. rlhe method of maintaining the level of liquid in a vessel whichcomprises the step of imparting a series of unidirectional pulsations toa column of the liquid, such pulsations being strong enough to force a.portion of the liquid in the column into the vessel by overcoming thelow static head when the liquid in the vessel is below a predeterminedlevel but not strong enough toovercome a high static head after theliquid in the vessel reaches a predetermined level.

10. A pump for supplying fuel at a low level to carburetors at a higherlevel for internal combustion engines or the like, a supply pipeconnected to said pump at the higher level and to the source of supply,a piston reciprocating in said pump to cause pulsationsto the fuel inthe supply pipe, the said piston withdrawing at a greater rate from thecolumn of fuel than it moves toward said

